Cooperating hinges



A. R. BATEMAN COOPERATING HINGES' FiledAug. 1, 1941' LIIJI inventorattorneys.

and a circular rim l2.

Patented Dec. 8, 1942 1 i UNITED STATES PATENT "OFFICE j i i; I j2,304,393 n v 1 (JO-OPERATING HINGES Amiur a. Bateman, Lynchburgx'Va. IApplication August 1, 1941. Seria1 No.'405,'107 I g 2 Claims.

This invention relates to a cooperating hinging means for a toiletseat-and lid.

An object of the invention is the provision of a hinge construction fora toilet seat and lid in which when the seat and lid are in operativeposition, all strain on the hinge will be eliminated so that the bowlalone will bear all of the weight.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a hingeconstructionin which the hinge will have sliding contact with a pintleso that the bearings of the hinge on the pintle will be shifted when theseat and lid are located in different positions, thereby eliminatingwear at a particular point on the hinge elements, the construction beingsuch that when the lid and seat are in operative position the bearingsof the hinge element will be located out of supporting contact with thepintle, thereby eliminating the weight on the pintle when the seat andlid are in operative position.

This invention will be best understood from a consideration of thefollowing detailed description in view of the accompanying drawingforming a part of the specification; nevertheless, it is to beunderstood that the invention is not confined to the disclosure, beingsusceptible of such changes and modifications as define no materialdeparture from the salient features of the invention as expressed in theappended claims. In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of the usual bowl showing the seat andlid in operative relation thereon.

Figure 2 isa fragmentary vertical section taken along the line 22 ofFig. 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical section showing the position of thehinge elements when the lid and seat are located in an inoperativeposition.

Figure 4 is a transverse vertical section taken along the line 4-4 ofFig. 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, l designates a bowl havingan offset portion II A pair of brackets l3 are provided with threadedbolts l4 passing through passages l5 in the offset portion II. Ashoulder lB cooperates with a nut H for securing the brackets I3 inposition. These brackets extend upwardly and forwardly as shown at l8and are provided with bearings I9 at their free ends.

A seat 20 which is substantially in the form of a ring, is provided withrubber buttons I2 which support the seat entirely on the rim 2| atspaced points at-the upper end of the bowl ID.

A pair or hingeelements generally designated by'the numeral 25 have baseportions 26 located within cut out portions 21 formed in the underfaceof the seat 20. Screws 28 secure these base portions to the underface ofthe seat with the outer faces of said bases lying flush with theunderface of the seat.

The hinge elements 25 each has a vertical portion 30 and a rearwardlyextending lug 31. Each of these lugs are provided with vertical slots 32adapted to receive a pintle 33 carried by the bearings I9 of thebrackets l3. These slots are elongated so that when the seat 20 is movedto various positions the pintle 33 will engage the different ends of theslot and also will be located midway between the ends of the slot whenthe seat is located in a horizontal or operative position.

A lid 35 is pivotally mounted on the pintle 33 and each of the hingeelements for the lid comprise a base member 36 and an outwardlyprojecting arm 31. It will be noted that each arm has an elongated slot38 which is disposed in horizontal position when the lid 35 is in aninoperative position or the slot will be in a vertical position when thelid is located in closed position, as shown in Fig. 2. These slots areelongated so that as the lid 35 is moved the bearing contact between thewalls of the slot 38 and the pintle 33 will be shifted. The base members36 are set in sockets disposed at the inner face of the lid 35 and aresecured by means of screws 39 to the seat.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 2 it will be seen that the seat 20and the lid 35 are in 01 erative position with the lid 20 beingsupported solely by the buttons 2| on the rim l2 of the bowl l0. At thistime the pintle 33 does not support the seat since the said pintle islocated midway between the ends of the slot 32 with the slots beinglocated in a vertical section. Thus all weight is eliminated from thehinging member for the seat. On the other hand, when the seat is movedto an inoperative position, as shown in Fig. 3, the slots 32 areinclined at an angle to the horizontal and the pintle engages one end ofthe slots. At this time only does the pintle 33 support the weight ofthe seat 20.

When the lid 35 is in an operative or closed position as shown in Fig.2, the slots 38 in the arms 31 of the hinging members of the lid aredisposed in vertical position with the ends of the slots midway betweenthe pintle 33 so that all weight at this time has been removed from thehinging means and particularly the pintle 33 and the brackets [3. When,however, the seat is raised to its elevated position, the arms 31 willslide rearwardly so that the pintle 33 will engage the outer ends of theslots 38.

It will be seen by this construction that the only time that the pintle33 supports the weight of the seat or lid 36 is when the seat and lidare located in an inoperative position. On the other hand, when the seatand lid are located in horizontal position the pintle will be out ofcontact with the actual bearing surfaces or walls of the slots 32 andthus all strain will be removed from the hinging means.

I claim:

1. In a toilet having a seat and a lid, a hinging means for the seat andlid comprising a; stationary pintle, a pair of lugs projecting outwardlyand downwardly from the rear end of the lid and provided with verticalslots which receive the 0 pintle, a pair of lugs projecting outwardlyand upwardly from the seat and provided with'vertical slots receivingthe pintle; said pintle when the seat and lid are in an operative restposition on the .bowl being located midway between the ends of all theslots so that all weight has been eliminated from the hinging means.

2. In a toilet having a seat and a lid movable relative to each other, acooperative hinging gated slots also receiving the pintle at the otherside of the bearings, said slots when the seat and lid are in anoperative rest position on the upper end of the bowl of the toilet beingso positioned v with respect to the pintle that said pintle will belocated intermediate the ends of the slots whereby all load will beeliminated from the hinging means.

ARTHUR R. BATEMANi

